Introduction
The llama is a type of large camelids originating from North America. Standing at an average height of 1.70 metres (female) to 1.8 metres (male) when measured from head to toe, a llama normally weigh in at around 130 kilograms (female) to 155 kilograms (male). Since they have such a strong build, a llama can usually lift up to 60kg (female) to 90kg (male) on their back and still manage to walk several hours without much trouble. It can also run up to speeds of about 60 kilometres per hour. Humans, seeing the strong muscles the llama poccesses, have been domesticating the species and using them as means of transportation or food sources, with records of people living on the Andes mountains riding llamas as early as the pre-hispanic times. There fur colour of a llama may vary, from white, brown, gray or black. Some may even be born with a mixture of two colours (one as a base colour and the other one as dots).
The latin name for llama is lama glama. Lama means grassland, a place where a llama will often visit for food. Glama can be defined as a deformation of the eyelid, probably referring to how thick a llama's eyelid is when compared to a human's.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Genus: Lama
Species: L. glama
Diagram Habitat
Nowadays, most llamas mainly live on the Andes Mountain Range which stretches across the coast of South America, going through places like Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Some of them also live in grasslands and deserts. The place where a llama decides to finally settle down depends heavily on the climate. They prefer to live in arid places, like the dromedary camel does, where the temperature ranges from around two degrees celcius to ten degrees celcius. Llamas tend to choose homes where there is little wind. Around one hundred thousand llamas are also kept in zoos or in farms to help herd sheep.
Llamas have a diet similar to that of a springbok's . A Llama mainly feeds on grass or hay but will also occasionally eat grains or fruits such as various types of berries, banana or apple slices. Llamas in zoos or in the care of humans, even though not part of their natural diet, are sometimes also fed salt blocks to increase the amount of minerals in their body or protein pills to strengthen their bones. Young llamas drink milk provided by their mother.
Llamas, in the wild, prefer to roam their habitat in herds with one male llama being recognized by all the other llamas as the "leader" while each and every other llama in the herd is assigned a "rank". "Higher ranking" llamas have been seen to spit upon "lower ranking" ones when they see them doing something they disapprove of, such as straying from the herd. This "rank" though may change if one llama challenges another to a fight, usually to improve to their status in the herd or to prove themselves to the females during mating season. Brawls often consist of ramming of horns or chests and kicking. Living in herds has its advantages though, and one llama will often be assigned as the "guard" by the "leader" to watch over the rest when they sleep, wash or stop to drink.
Once the "guard" discovers a threat, it will make a loud low hum which will alert the others to escape.
Every animal has predators and llamas are no exception. Mountain lions, grizzly bears and packs of coyotes are known to eat llama meat with mountain lions having the highest success rate (probably because of their speed, sharp claws, teeth and ability to follow the llamas up the mountain) while coyotes having the most kills per attack (as they hunt in packs where they will form a kind of semi circle closing into the herd of llamas).
Structural Adaptations 1. Double Coated
Llamas are born with two layers of coating, one directly on top of the other. The underlayer is very thick, giving the llama protection from the cold and harsh places it might choose to live in. The outerlayerm, consisting of very long and coarse hairs called guard hairs, is to be shedded after a period of time, working as a sort of cover for the first one, so that any dirt that the llama had aquired, such as mud or grass clippings, can be easily removed without the need to bathe. The second layer also reflects sunlight and is waterproof, keeping the llama cool in hot places. Farmers who have raised llamas found that those shaved of their second layer tends to sweat fifty percent more compared to those who kept it on.
Llamas live in a variety of different areas and the temperature difference bewteen one, such as the bottom of the Andes Mountain compared to the top, can already be pretty large. This is the environmental pressure forced upon llamas and they need two different coats, just like humans need different clothing, in order to be able to survive in such different environments.
2.Modified Feet
This is why llamas are fitted with specially modified feet which consists of splitted toes covered in hard dark coloured toenails instead of the usual hoof and extra leather-like padding on the place it walks on. The two toes help it gain a better grip on surfaces while the pads helps ease pressure on the feet and lowers the impact their feet make on fragile areas. The legs and lower joints of llamas also come off at approximately ninety degrees from their feet.This helps them escape from predators or other unexpected events such as natural diasters.
The environmental pressure for the llamas' feet to grow that way is the llama's natural habitat as one or two steps off balance can possibly mean the animal's death, especially if they fall off a ledge or a rock. Also, animals who hunt llamas are known to act fast, with mountain lions to being able to clear three metres in one leap and coyotes running as fast as forty kilometres an hour. It is therefore crucial for llamas having the chance to outrun then and is probably why they have such oddly shaped legs.
Behavioural Adaptations 1.Position While Giving Birth
Female llamas give birth between the hours of eight am till noon whilst standing up. The weather in the morning is usually the most pleasant- the afternoon is often too hot (as they give birth in summer) and the night is too cold. The crias coming out of the mother's womb to an environment which is easy to adapt to helps prevent it from suffering diseases like hypothermia or heatstroke.
Also, when the birth takes place, other female llamas stand around the female llama giving birth in order to protect her from male llamas or other predators.
Environmental pressure that resulted in such a wierd birth stance may be because of the fact that a pregnant llama can only give birth to one crias after a lengthy eleven and a half months long gestation period. The survival of the crias then is important in order to keep the species from becoming extinct (a.k.a.as opposed to creatures like cockroaches who give birth to dozens of babies).
2. Resting Position
At the end of the day, the llamas will sit down by bending all four of their legs so that it is tucked in close or on the bottom of their bodies. This not only lowers the chance of another llama from the same herd mistakingly stepping onto their limbs at night time when their vision isn't so good, but also helps keep their legs warm as they are shielded from the cold temperature by the thick coat llamas wear on their bodies.
In the afternoons, when it is sometimes too hot to walk, llamas will also often squat down, but this time their front legs will not touch its hind ones nor will it touch its body. This way, wind will pass through the gaps formed by this unique position, cooling the llamas down.
The extreme temperature in which llamas live is the environmental pressure. Knowing how to sit in two different positions in two different situations makes life alot more comfortable for them.
Physiological Adaptations 1. Ability to live in places of high alttitude
As stated above, some llamas choose to set their home in areas as high as thirteen hundred feet above sea level where the wind speed can blow to around 130 kilometres per hour, temperature varies greatly from day to night, and oxygen is "thin" due to pressure of air particles being not as high as it is on ground level.
They are able to do that as they, when compared to other mammals like humans or pigs, are born with alot more red corpuscles (blood cells) in their bodies. In the red blood cells, their type of protein which helps carry oxygen through the body, known as the hemoglobin, is also more responsive in than most other animals, making it entirely possible for them to absorb a smaller amount of oxygen but to use it so effectively that they do not experience dizziness or the feeling that they are unable to breath.
The environmental pressure for the llama's physiological adaption is obvious- if it is unable to absorb the amount of oxygen required for their body to remain functioning, the will eventually die.
Llama
Introduction
The llama is a type of large camelids originating from North America. Standing at an average height of 1.70 metres (female) to 1.8 metres (male) when measured from head to toe, a llama normally weigh in at around 130 kilograms (female) to 155 kilograms (male). Since they have such a strong build, a llama can usually lift up to 60kg (female) to 90kg (male) on their back and still manage to walk several hours without much trouble. It can also run up to speeds of about 60 kilometres per hour. Humans, seeing the strong muscles the llama poccesses, have been domesticating the species and using them as means of transportation or food sources, with records of people living on the Andes mountains riding llamas as early as the pre-hispanic times. There fur colour of a llama may vary, from white, brown, gray or black. Some may even be born with a mixture of two colours (one as a base colour and the other one as dots).
The latin name for llama is lama glama. Lama means grassland, a place where a llama will often visit for food. Glama can be defined as a deformation of the eyelid, probably referring to how thick a llama's eyelid is when compared to a human's.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Genus: Lama
Species: L. glama
Diagram
Habitat
Nowadays, most llamas mainly live on the Andes Mountain Range which stretches across the coast of South America, going through places like Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Some of them also live in grasslands and deserts. The place where a llama decides to finally settle down depends heavily on the climate. They prefer to live in arid places, like the dromedary camel does, where the temperature ranges from around two degrees celcius to ten degrees celcius. Llamas tend to choose homes where there is little wind. Around one hundred thousand llamas are also kept in zoos or in farms to help herd sheep.
Llamas have a diet similar to that of a springbok's . A Llama mainly feeds on grass or hay but will also occasionally eat grains or fruits such as various types of berries, banana or apple slices. Llamas in zoos or in the care of humans, even though not part of their natural diet, are sometimes also fed salt blocks to increase the amount of minerals in their body or protein pills to strengthen their bones. Young llamas drink milk provided by their mother.
Llamas, in the wild, prefer to roam their habitat in herds with one male llama being recognized by all the other llamas as the "leader" while each and every other llama in the herd is assigned a "rank". "Higher ranking" llamas have been seen to spit upon "lower ranking" ones when they see them doing something they disapprove of, such as straying from the herd. This "rank" though may change if one llama challenges another to a fight, usually to improve to their status in the herd or to prove themselves to the females during mating season. Brawls often consist of ramming of horns or chests and kicking. Living in herds has its advantages though, and one llama will often be assigned as the "guard" by the "leader" to watch over the rest when they sleep, wash or stop to drink.
Once the "guard" discovers a threat, it will make a loud low hum which will alert the others to escape.
Every animal has predators and llamas are no exception. Mountain lions, grizzly bears and packs of coyotes are known to eat llama meat with mountain lions having the highest success rate (probably because of their speed, sharp claws, teeth and ability to follow the llamas up the mountain) while coyotes having the most kills per attack (as they hunt in packs where they will form a kind of semi circle closing into the herd of llamas).
Structural Adaptations
1. Double Coated
Llamas are born with two layers of coating, one directly on top of the other. The underlayer is very thick, giving the llama protection from the cold and harsh places it might choose to live in. The outerlayerm, consisting of very long and coarse hairs called guard hairs, is to be shedded after a period of time, working as a sort of cover for the first one, so that any dirt that the llama had aquired, such as mud or grass clippings, can be easily removed without the need to bathe. The second layer also reflects sunlight and is waterproof, keeping the llama cool in hot places. Farmers who have raised llamas found that those shaved of their second layer tends to sweat fifty percent more compared to those who kept it on.
Llamas live in a variety of different areas and the temperature difference bewteen one, such as the bottom of the Andes Mountain compared to the top, can already be pretty large. This is the environmental pressure forced upon llamas and they need two different coats, just like humans need different clothing, in order to be able to survive in such different environments.
2.Modified Feet
This is why llamas are fitted with specially modified feet which consists of splitted toes covered in hard dark coloured toenails instead of the usual hoof and extra leather-like padding on the place it walks on. The two toes help it gain a better grip on surfaces while the pads helps ease pressure on the feet and lowers the impact their feet make on fragile areas. The legs and lower joints of llamas also come off at approximately ninety degrees from their feet.This helps them escape from predators or other unexpected events such as natural diasters.
The environmental pressure for the llamas' feet to grow that way is the llama's natural habitat as one or two steps off balance can possibly mean the animal's death, especially if they fall off a ledge or a rock. Also, animals who hunt llamas are known to act fast, with mountain lions to being able to clear three metres in one leap and coyotes running as fast as forty kilometres an hour. It is therefore crucial for llamas having the chance to outrun then and is probably why they have such oddly shaped legs.
Behavioural Adaptations
1.Position While Giving Birth
Female llamas give birth between the hours of eight am till noon whilst standing up. The weather in the morning is usually the most pleasant- the afternoon is often too hot (as they give birth in summer) and the night is too cold. The crias coming out of the mother's womb to an environment which is easy to adapt to helps prevent it from suffering diseases like hypothermia or heatstroke.
Also, when the birth takes place, other female llamas stand around the female llama giving birth in order to protect her from male llamas or other predators.
Environmental pressure that resulted in such a wierd birth stance may be because of the fact that a pregnant llama can only give birth to one crias after a lengthy eleven and a half months long gestation period. The survival of the crias then is important in order to keep the species from becoming extinct (a.k.a.as opposed to creatures like cockroaches who give birth to dozens of babies).
2. Resting Position
At the end of the day, the llamas will sit down by bending all four of their legs so that it is tucked in close or on the bottom of their bodies. This not only lowers the chance of another llama from the same herd mistakingly stepping onto their limbs at night time when their vision isn't so good, but also helps keep their legs warm as they are shielded from the cold temperature by the thick coat llamas wear on their bodies.
In the afternoons, when it is sometimes too hot to walk, llamas will also often squat down, but this time their front legs will not touch its hind ones nor will it touch its body. This way, wind will pass through the gaps formed by this unique position, cooling the llamas down.
The extreme temperature in which llamas live is the environmental pressure. Knowing how to sit in two different positions in two different situations makes life alot more comfortable for them.
Physiological Adaptations
1. Ability to live in places of high alttitude
As stated above, some llamas choose to set their home in areas as high as thirteen hundred feet above sea level where the wind speed can blow to around 130 kilometres per hour, temperature varies greatly from day to night, and oxygen is "thin" due to pressure of air particles being not as high as it is on ground level.
They are able to do that as they, when compared to other mammals like humans or pigs, are born with alot more red corpuscles (blood cells) in their bodies. In the red blood cells, their type of protein which helps carry oxygen through the body, known as the hemoglobin, is also more responsive in than most other animals, making it entirely possible for them to absorb a smaller amount of oxygen but to use it so effectively that they do not experience dizziness or the feeling that they are unable to breath.
The environmental pressure for the llama's physiological adaption is obvious- if it is unable to absorb the amount of oxygen required for their body to remain functioning, the will eventually die.
Bibliography